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Bryan County staff recommends approval of settlement with former employee; no county funds to be paid
Summary
County staff described a settlement in which the county would disclose only employment dates and title if asked, the former employee agrees not to disparage the county, and no county funds would be paid; a superior court found claims in a mandamus case unsustained, while other cases remain pending.
County staff recommended the county approve a settlement with a former employee identified in the transcript as Mr. Puskauskas, saying the county would not pay money as part of the agreement.
The County staff member told the meeting that, if the county receives an inquiry about the former employee’s employment, it would confirm the dates he worked and his job title, and that the former employee “shall not disparage the county or any of the county officers, elected officials, etcetera” as part of the settlement. The staff member said the terms are the “essential material terms of the settlement agreement” and that it had been “negotiated in good faith.”
The staff member recommended approval, saying, “No money's gonna be expended by the county to solve this controversy, so I recommend it be approved.” A Board member followed by asking whether the claims the former employee made against the county had been found to be unfounded; the staff member replied, “Correct,” and noted that the Superior Court in the mandamus case found the claims unsustained. The staff member also said other related cases remain pending and described litigation as slow.
The transcript excerpted for this report does not include a recorded vote or motion on the settlement; the staff member’s statement was a recommendation to the governing body, and no formal outcome is shown in the provided text.
The transcript uses several variant spellings of the former employee’s name; this article standardizes that name as “Mr. Puskauskas” for consistency. The transcript identifies the forum only as Bryan County; the meeting record excerpt did not specify the body taking the vote, the date of any vote, or other procedural details.
Because the settlement, as described in the transcript, does not entail county payment, staff said the county’s only administrative action if queried would be to confirm employment dates and title. The staff member characterized the settlement as negotiated in good faith and indicated the county would not make financial concessions as part of this agreement.
No additional documentary references (such as a settlement agreement text or vote sheet) or vote tallies appear in the transcript excerpt provided. The Superior Court’s decision in the mandamus case was cited by the staff member as having found claims unsustained; no citation number or written order was provided in the excerpt.
